The autumn water is slightly cool, the dead leaves are piled up on the octagonal mountain, and the ink-dyed landscape gradually fades.

Last night, the west wind, today put on a thick jacket, Yan Du sat in the carriage of the master's house, Uncle Ah Chuan outside the carriage drove steadily, she picked up the corner of the window, and watched the yellow leaves flying all over the window, stirring the whole world into ashes, winter has come.

Yan Du knew that Uncle Ah Chuan would go to the town every half a month to buy, and the letter sent to his brother was sent by Uncle Ah Chuan with the help of Uncle Ah Chuan, and it had been several months, and I didn't know if my brother on Tianji Mountain had received her letter.

Yan Du was wearing a black plain round-necked robe, with long black hair tied up, a fair and handsome face, and two eyebrows full of heroism.

I saw her close her eyes and lie in the car for a short rest. Since last year, when she and Master walked around the town and bought a sword, Yan Duan had never been out of Bajiao Mountain, and she hadn't seen anyone else except Master and Uncle Ah Chuan for a long time.

The reason why Yan Du went out with Uncle Ah Chuan today was because she practiced her sword excessively, the body of the big sword was a little worn, and the sturdy strap of the sword handle was also waved by her day and night, making it scattered. Seeing this, the master asked her to follow Uncle Ah Chuan to the blacksmith shop to sharpen the blade and hilt of the sword.

Having said that, in fact, Yan Du herself knew that the master wanted her to go to the town to relax, and didn't want her to continue to stick to the tenth style of the Yishui Sword Technique!

Yan Duan's right hand touched his forehead, the sword practice has been a bit fierce recently, and when he went out today, he felt that his whole body was soft, and he couldn't lift his strength.

"Little doll, it's here!" Umegawa stopped the carriage steadily, didn't open the door, and just said quietly, she knew that Yan Du could hear it.

As soon as Yan Duan heard Uncle Achuan's voice, a carp stiffened, grabbed his sword and pushed the door open, and a gust of cold wind instantly swished.

"Shhh Why is it so cold today? Yan Dusk, who had been practicing martial arts for several months, was supposed to be in good health, but he was also shivered by this gust of cold wind.

However, Mei Chuan, who was sitting outside the car and had been driving, did not feel the cold at all with his tall and mighty body, and his broad shoulders also helped Yan Du block a little wind.

Cold? The little doll is really weak, so let's buy some ginger and go back to ward off the cold for her.

Mei Chuan was thinking about it, Yan Du had already jumped out of the car and was about to walk to the old iron shop, and Mei Chuan, who saw this, said, "I'll come here to pick you up in an hour." ”

Yan Duan, who was holding the sword, turned his head, his apricot eyes were watery on weekdays, but for some reason he didn't have much energy today, and his voice was wilting: "Okay!" I'm tired of Uncle Achuan! ”

Mei Chuan's unwavering eyes looked at Yan Du tightly, and he couldn't see what he was thinking.

The little doll is infected with the wind and cold today, so I need to hurry up and grab some medicine! Thinking of this, Umegawa drove away.

Yan Dumu saw Mei Chuan leave before stepping into the blacksmith shop, she looked around for a week and found that the blacksmith shop was much more depressed than last year. The weapons and knives that had been placed aside were all covered in thick dust.

"What does the guest want?" The smiling store in previous years, for some reason, looks like she is today, wilted.

Yan Du took out the sword in his hand and said to the shopkeeper with an indescribable expression: "I'm tired of the shopkeeper, help this sword sharpen the blade and hilt!" ”

The shopkeeper took the sword handed over by Yan Dui, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled slightly and said, "I bought this sword from us!" ”

Yan Du nodded, "It was last year." ”

"Last year!" The shopkeeper took the sword and led Yan Du to the iron-striking place, muttering, "Hey! Last year, our store was doing quite well! ”

The shopkeeper's expression was sad, a little reluctant, and a little helpless: "Fortunately, the little brother came by chance, our store will close tomorrow!" ”

"Closed?" Yan Du asked with some confusion, when I came here last year, the business here looked very good, but this year it is not doing well?

"yes!" The shopkeeper, who had already rolled up his sleeves, carefully looked at the defects of the blade, and slowly pushed towards the whetstone: "The previous fire on Lingnan Road burned a big ship of almost 500 people, and all the roads in Lingnan Road were closed to strictly investigate the culprit. What we use is the iron ore in Lingnan, and now we can't transport it, so we have to use the expensive iron and stone produced here. ”

"I originally thought that I could always survive after a while, but I didn't expect that suddenly the tax rose, and the people of Daheng were so poor that no one came to buy ironware, and if it was broken, I would grind it myself, endure it, and use it for a day!"

"Why the tax increase?" Yan Dusk's brows furrowed

"This one! Lao Tie, I saw that the little brother was a kind-hearted person, so I told you. While repairing Yan Dui's sword, the shopkeeper lowered his voice and said:

"Now the streets and alleys are saying, our Emperor Hui, the name is not right, he didn't dare to use all the soldiers who followed Emperor Heng before, and it was not easy to kill, so he had to recruit new soldiers, where did the money come from to support people, didn't he have to take it from our ordinary people!"

Yan Du listened, stunned, I didn't expect that Ying Hui would dare to raise taxes as soon as he took office, even if he needed to strengthen the army and raise soldiers, so disregarding the common people, it was inevitable that he would be criticized by the world, it seems that he was indeed impatient, no wonder his father risked being degraded, and he was unwilling to join his command!

"Many of our shops in Yishui Town can't be opened!" The store may not have seen customers for a long time, and today is the last day, as if the conversation has been opened.

Yan Du felt that his head was hot, and when he turned his head and saw the iron-burning stove next to him, it should have been roasted by it, so he moved his position and asked, "Just because of the tax increase?" ”

"Not only that! If the tax is raised, the shop with good business here can still be passed, but the county lord's big man Lin Ping, in our Yishui Town, is a well-known big profiteer, greedy for money and lustful, as soon as he sees which store has a good business and which shop daughter is good-looking, he asked his father to make a name for himself, and arrested people into the government, and then he pretended to be a good person and accepted other people's shops at a low price, and robbed other people's girls to go home as concubines. ”

As soon as Lao Tie talked about this person, he was so angry that his teeth itched, and his strength to sharpen his sword increased a little!

Yan Du listened to the words of the store silently, and the breath in his heart was unstable again, and the heat on his forehead became more and more victorious.

After taking the repaired sword, Yan Du took out the money bag and was about to pay, but the store refused to accept it: "Little brother, you bought this sword from me, and as soon as the gate closes tomorrow, the number of people in the world who use the iron tools I make will decrease, so take it as fate!" ”

Yan Du looked at the new big sword in front of her in a daze, her heart was full of mixed feelings, a light came, and the sword body reflected her eyes, without the previous fighting spirit, only stunned.

It didn't take half an hour for the shopkeeper to sharpen his sword, and when he saw that he still had some time, he went to the market.

Without the vitality of previous years, the whole market was darkened by the cold wind. The cold wind blew up a dead leaf on the ground and landed on the roadside vegetable stall, the yellowing of the vegetable leaves on it made people lose their appetite, and the vendor's lifeless eyes were full of helplessness.

Yan Du suddenly remembered a poem: Life is often exempt from rent and tax, and the name is not subordinate to the levy. The traces are still sour and bitter, and the people are stubborn.

Du Fu said that he was an official anyway, he did not need to serve in the military, and he did not have the burden of paying rent and taxes, but he still couldn't avoid the tragic experience of children starving to death, and the life of ordinary people was even more bitter!

Just a year, can it become like this?

"Stop! Hold it! Suddenly, there was a commotion in front of him, and when he looked up, he saw several people in guard clothes, chasing a woman in yellow.

"Help! Help me! The woman's voice was terrible, crying heartbreakingly, but next to her were ordinary people who were completely powerless, who dared to stand up?

Yan Du frowned, the situation in front of her was unclear, she would not make a move easily. I saw that the fleeing woman staggered, fell to the ground, and was surrounded by a group of guards who rushed up, and they didn't see them do anything, but just tied her hands and feet, sealed her mouth, and lifted her up.

"What is this?" Twilight muttered, the feeling of dizziness in her head becoming more and more obvious.

The person next to him saw the sword in Yan Dui's hand, saw her eyes sharp and her posture erect, and thought that she was a young ranger from somewhere, so he slowly said to her:

"Just now that person is the youngest daughter of the rice shop family in the town, the family is well-off, and the eldest son of the cloth seller in the north of the city has a marriage contract, but he was looked down upon by Lin Ping, this rice shop was also collected by him, and the person was also arrested back to make a concubine for the lame, and the wedding cards were sent out, and I heard that Ming'er would visit the church."

"Then Lin Ping is a colored dog!" A butcher next to him said in a rough voice: "I have married seven or eight concubines, and I still want to be a little girl!" ”

"Be quiet!" The butcher's daughter-in-law hurriedly ran over and said, "If those good things are told to Lord Lin, our stall will be gone!" ”

The butcher looked at his mother-in-law, turned his head and thought that there was really some truth, so he said to the people around him: "I'm just saying, don't take it seriously!" ”

Yan Du looked at the farce in front of him, this should be Lin Ping, the son of the county lord who forcibly married the people's daughter and forcibly occupied the good shop, Yan Du closed his eyelids a little heavily, recalling the woman just now, the messy long hair, hoarse scream, like every female relative on the night of Yan's annihilation!

I saw her gasping, the temperature on her forehead was getting higher and higher, the sword in her hand seemed to be the only one to rely on, the sweat on both sides of her sideburns slid down her smooth face to her chin, and when she opened her eyes again, they were already covered with red bloodshots.

The feeling of suffocation made her have to adjust her breathing deeply, lift her feet and take a step, the heavy load of her body made her feet weak, and she almost couldn't stand steadily!

"How could I!" Yan Du said in a voice that only she could hear, and the heat on her forehead made her have to face it, she had a fever!

At this moment, a series of questions, like the man in black that night, surrounded her and laughed at her!

"Do you think your current abilities can kill a bully with a single blow?"

"Didn't you even practice the tenth form of the Yi Shui Sword Technique?"

"You coward, who only hides under the bed, still know how to kill?"

"Aren't you afraid that after killing someone, you will cause trouble to Master and them?"

Twilight was so overwhelmed by the questions that she couldn't breathe, and everyone around her looked like they were laughing at her! She opened her eyes wide in horror, looking at all kinds of people who were walking shoulder to shoulder with her, looking at the gate of the Lin Mansion in front of her, and the two stone lions with big mouths at the door seemed to come to life, opening their teeth and dancing claws and biting straight at her!

"Ahh Twilight screamed in fright at the lion's bloody mouth, and her steps retreated again and again, and with a bang, she actually crashed into a wall-like body.

"What's wrong?" Uncle Achuan's low and steady voice sounded from above, Yan Du stared at him with two big eyes stunned, and the cherry lips that were constantly panting opened for a while before he spoke.

"It's fine!"